MADISON - Former federal prosecutor Josh Kaul declared victory Wednesday over Attorney General Brad Schimel in a hard-fought race that came down to less than a percentage point.

Kaul laid out plans for the Department of Justice to supporters Wednesday on the steps of the Dane County Courthouse, including withdrawing from a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act — a key issue in all three major statewide races this fall.

The Republican incumbent said he would wait to see how the final votes shake out before formally conceding but said he would ensure a smooth transition at the Department of Justice if the margin of victory does not change. About 22,000 votes separate the two.

"I have enormous respect for Attorney General Schimel's long career in public service," Kaul said Wednesday.

Kaul said he would ensure investigation of DNA matches resulting from testing of sexual assault evidence kits — an issue that plagued Schimel throughout the campaign — and would "start responding to our opioid epidemic like the crisis it is," including leveling harsher penalties on pharmaceutical companies.

Firearms regulations vowed

He also said he would seek new firearms regulations, including universal background checks, a ban on so-called bump stocks that allow semiautomatic firearms to fire more quickly, and a "red flag" law that would allow authorities to seize firearms from people who pose a risk of harming themselves or others.

Kaul's victory was one of four Democratic statewide wins on Tuesday. Democrats took control of every state office for the first time in three decades.

Kaul will lead the state Department of Justice for the next four years — a post his mother Peg Lautenschlager held between 2003 and 2007. She died in the middle of Kaul's campaign.

As attorney general, Kaul will be responsible for overseeing high-profile challenges to federal and state laws and improving the way the state combats a growing opioid abuse epidemic and abuse of seniors.

The race between Schimel and Kaul focused exclusively on both candidates' records in courtrooms prosecuting criminals instead of their experience handling civil matters, which makes up much of the DOJ's work.

Schimel, 53, received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a law degree from the UW Law School. He joined the Waukesha County district attorney's office in 1990 and was elected Waukesha County district attorney in 2006.

Kaul, 37, received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and earned his law degree from Stanford University. Kaul was in private practice from 2007 until 2010 when he joined the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Maryland. In 2014, he moved back to Wisconsin and joined a Madison firm.

During the race, Schimel repeatedly attacked Kaul on his lack of experience in Wisconsin courtrooms prosecuting crimes.

Kaul maintained his experience handling federal prosecutions of large-scale heroin operations, gang members and a number of cases with more than a dozen defendants gave him experience beyond Schimel's.

Kaul criticized Schimel over the pace at which evidence related to sexual assaults was tested, $10,000 spent on challenge coins for law enforcement officials and his handling of a handful of cases as a prosecutor involving child rapists in which some defendants received no prison time.

But Schimel defended his effort to identify the untested evidence — noting he was the first attorney general to do so — and said often times in sexual assault cases there is too little evidence to make the case for long prison sentences, resulting in plea deals.

The central issue of health care in the governor's race also bled into the race for attorney general as Kaul and state Democrats repeatedly criticized Schimel for his lawsuit to overturn the ACA.

We want everyone to have free access to our election coverage Tuesday and Wednesday, but we hope you will consider supporting the Journal Sentinel by subscribing at jsonline.com/deal.